A Short History of Massachusetts Place Names: Explorers and Colonists in the 17th Century

Explorers and Colonists in the 17^th Century

Bartholomew Gosnold (1572-1607) was the first documented European to step foot in New England by way of Maine and then down the coast to Provincetown in 1602. He established the first English colony on New England soil. He also named Cape Cod for its abundance of cod fish and found “many fair islands" he named the Elizabeth Islands after the Queen. Another island he found abundant grapes and vineyards and named after his daughter, Martha. On Cuttyhunk Island, once known by the impressive Indian name of Poocuohhunkkunnah, the little town of Gosnold (population 86) erected the Gosnold Tower in his memory in 19xx.

The pedigree of Captain John Smith (1579-1632) is so ancient that historians of Lincoln County, England rarely allude to it. He was a veteran soldier, sailor, explorer, cartographer, and colonist. A president of the Jamestown, VA colony and its prisoner; he explored the “place to which tribute is brought" at the Potomac and mapped “at a big river" the Chesapeake Bay.  

The “Admiral of New England” originated the name in a draft of his map of 1614 (published in 1616) dedicated to Charles I, then a sixteen year-old Prince.Charles was invited to anglicize the “barbarous” Indian names but most were replaced with the exception of the Charles River named after him and Cape Ann, named after his mother, Queen Anne of Denmark.

 Cape Ann first appeared on Smith’s map as Cape Trabigzanda in gratitude to the Turkish noblewoman who befriended him while a slave. Smith also named the “Three Turks Heads” the islands off Rockport for the gladiators he beheaded in battle and they were not renamed until the 19th century.

The years 1620-30 saw the first plantings of Massachusetts towns, inspired by “merchant adventurers” in England eager to invest in the new world.  Leaders of the “adventures” were often men of high social standing with connections to financial backers, Puritan convictions and religious dissidents eager to follow. Other colonists sought out the fresh opportunities of a new land; some minor lords and ladies with servants but none of the practical skills needed to survive.

Plymouth is the oldest town name, continuously occupied since 1620 with the settlement of Plimouth Plantation led by William Brewster. It was followed by the Wessagusett or Weston Colony in 1622 at present Weymouth, led by Thomas Weston.  Poor planning, hunger, desperation, conflicts and thefts from the Massachuset tribe led to its failure. The colony was reestablished as Weymouth (after that name in Dorset, England) in 1623, but failed again and its colonists dispersed to Plymouth or back to England. 

That same year, the Dorchester Company settled at present Gloucester, backed by merchant adventurers from Dorchester, England and led by Roger Conant. The colonists were mostly from Gloucester, England but the city wasn’t formally named until 1642. The first company landed at Half Moon Beach and settled nearby, setting up fishing stages at what is now Stage Fort Park where a memorial tablet marks the spot. Life in Gloucester was harsh and the colony was short-lived. It was reorganized under the leadership of John Endecott and moved to Naumkeag. That name refers to the Indian tribe living close to present Salem, renamed in 1626. 

Closer to Boston, Samuel Maverick had established residence at Noddle’s Island around 1624, now East Boston, and owned the “good spring nearby” of Winnisimmet, called Chelsea in 1739 after the neighborhood in London. Chelsea then included Revere, Winthrop and parts of Saugus. The area now known as Lynn was first settled in 1629 by Edmund Ingalls but first incorporated in 1631 as Saugus, the Nipmuck name. It included present Saugus, Lynnfield, Nahant, Reading, and Swampscott.  Lynn was taken from King's Lynn in the county of Norfolk, England by early settlers.

Thomas Walford was the original English settler of Mishawaum or Mishaumut in 1624, later Charles Towne at the head of the River, trading in furs. He was joined by the Great Migration led by John Winthrop in 1629 to establish the Bay Colony. For the Boston pilgrims from Boston, England, the lack of fresh water at Charles Town and sickness made it a very difficult first year. 

In the distance, a solitary column of smoke rose across the Mystic River each day from the promontory of what was known then as Mashauwomuk, Shawmutt and finally the Shawmut peninsula. It came from the fires of the only European occupant of Boston at the time, the Rev. William Blaxton aka Blackstone. He had settled in the area of present Boston Common and Beacon Hill around 1625 after a stint at Weymouth. Blaxton and Winthrop met, an invitation was extended to reestablish the colony at Shawmut and share the fresh water spring, and the rest as they say is history. Blackstone has a number of streets, parks, businesses, monuments, plaques, a river, valley and a town named after him in Boston, across Massachusetts and in Rhode Island where he finally settled. 

Boston was named on September 17, 1630. It owes its name to a 7^th century abbot known for his kindly spirit and good humor. Botolph prayed for the fishermen in a village with “more widows than wives” and the name, roughly translated from the Anglo-Saxon, meant “helper of boats”. His monastery developed into St. Botolph’s Church and the town that sprung up was “Botolph’s tun” or “town”, then “Botolphston” and finally Boston. References to St. Botolph are found at many places in Boston, its unofficial patron saint.

Massachusetts created four counties in one act of incorporation some twenty three years after the landing at Plymouth, all from counties where most of the colonists lived in east England. These were Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex and Norfolk. In each of the first three, there were originally eight towns with six in Norfolk. Worcester, Hampshire, Berkshire, Hampden, Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable, and Duke Counties were added later, also English towns. Nantucket was the one exception that retained its ancient Indian name.

New England towns took the suffixes of towns in England, namely: -ton or -town; -bury, -boro, or -burg; -bridge, -brook, -chester, -field, -ford, -ham, -land, -mouth, –minster, -port, -wich or –wick and -ville. Town suffixes ending in –ton or –town predominated. Some adopted Biblical names such as Canaan, Goshen, Providence, Prudence and Sharon. Colonists who spread out from Massachusetts to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont reflected their confidence in the New World with towns named Amity, Flagstaff, Freedom, Hope, Liberty, Success, Unity and Victory.

After the Rebellion, honor was given to its heroes by renaming streets and towns. A new Washington Street in Boston joined together the old Orange, Newbury, Marlborough, and Cornhill Streets between 1788 and 1872.  King Street was changed to State Street and Queen to Court Street on July 4, 1788. The towns of Adams, Brewster, Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawley, Marion, Otis, Pepperell, Quincy, Randolph, Revere, Williams and several more were named or renamed after heroes of the Revolution in Massachusetts and across New England. There is hardly a city or town in Massachusetts that doesn’t have a Washington Street or Avenue and often both.